Pavement‘s money grab should be commended, not condemned. I consider myself lucky that they cared enough to cash in.
A who’s who of Vancouver punk rock luminaries past and present descended on the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver, BC, Canada for former Black Flag singer Ron Reyes’s 50th birthday celebration on Saturday, July 24, 2010.
You can always expect a sing-along at a show by any musician who recorded a great song in the year 1984, but this one’s opening lines (“I was 21 years when I wrote this song / I’m 22 now but I won’t be for long”), and simple, permanent arrangement made it quite a bit more transcendent than the average.
Yankovic wisely made a point of keeping things current with a fresh batch of funny material. “Skipper Dan” described a failed thespian, doomed to a soul-destroying life of corny jokes as a riverboat guide on Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise attraction. Recent parody “You’re Pitiful” gave a more memorable upgrade to James Blunt’s maudlin “You’re Beautiful.”
With no opener and wasting not a second, they opened with “Raw Power”, which led right into “Search and Destroy”.
It goes without saying that This Will Destroy You know exactly how to command attention.
Lou was Lou, Wye Oak killed, and Young Man are on their way.
The second day of the celebration of thirty years of The Big Takeover, forcefully capped by imposing performances from For Against and Mark Burgess.
This was as close to the real thing as we’re ever likely to get given the relations between DEAN WAREHAM and his GALAXIE 500 bandmates.
Even more exciting, he announced the possibility of writing new songs with the new lineup.
The National have proven to be one of the more commanding live acts and singer Matt Berninger a most unlikely rock star.
Still, for as tired as the past few days had made me, it was worth it to witness this once-in-a-lifetime event.
After a rousing introduction by JACK RABID, THE AVENGERS ripped into “We Are the One“and just dominated from that point forward.
Day one of The Big Takeover’s 30th Anniversary Party, held at The Bell House and featuring sets from The Avengers, Channel 3, Visqueen, Springhouse and more.
The New Pornographers came to the windy city with their full lineup and regaled the crowd with their special brand of indie pop rocks.
Punk Rawk hits Lawn Guyland as Social Distortion takes the stage in Wantagh.
Kurt Vile with a slightly revamped Violators lineup pair with the shimmery breeze of Real Estate.
The “Detroit Breakdown” hits New York and four of Motown’s legendary bands add to the heat in NYC on a sweltering summer day.
It was a great honor and a pleasure to be able to provide music before, between, and after the great bands that played the first night of the Big Takeover’s 30th Anniversary festival at Bell House. Here are my playlists, with the performing bands also listed to provide context.
The Batusis kick ass in Brooklyn and release an e.p.
Their hour and a half set was packed with classic songs and the crowd were on their feet from the opening notes of “Black Coffee in Bed”.
There are songwriters and there are storytellers. Craig Finn is a storyteller. Half the fun of a Hold Steady show, especially in Minneapolis, is listening to Finn’s stories and reminiscences.
This sounded like such a cool idea that I had to go: a satellite broadcast of The Big Four of 80’s thrash — Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax — beamed down live to movie theaters around the world from the Sonisphere Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria.
A band I’ve never seen, in a venue I’ve been to before. In some situations, that might be a setup for an uncertain evening, but when its Procol Harum at Wolf Trap, the possibilities are much more favorable.
As comfortably dressed as songs like “Tomorrow We’ll See” and even “Roxanne” seemed to be, the true pleasure for Sting’s pop fans wasn’t necessarily hearing popular songs about prostitutes swathed in sweeping orchestral splendor.
Bob Pollard returns to the stage, debuting the new Moses On A Snail, at a sold-out Canal St. Tavern in his hometown of Dayton Ohio.
It’s hard to say how many present at the final stop on Hole’s US tour were there expecting (hoping?) to see a train wreck or how many were there out of curiosity.
If someone would have told me that the most anticipated concert of the summer would be a band that hasn’t played here since 1988, just released their first album in 14 years, and performs in identical costumes, I would have thought that person was insane.
They may have performed these songs thousands of times, but there was nothing dull or rote about the show.
Notably, they didn’t do any covers (unless I was too wasted to remember).
Although I’ve seen many frontmen do this sort of stuff, this didn’t feel forced. He seemed to be genuinely possessed at times.
Thus, when I heard that they would be playing one of the best-sounding venues I’ve ever been to, World Cafe Live, I was stoked.
Simply put, this show was an absolute blast!
Triumphant show to an adoring packed house, Buzzcocks can still bring the energy and the hooks.
The encores, consisting of singles released in 1977 and 1978, just killed. These included “Promises,” “Love You More,” “What Do I Get” and “Orgasm Addict”, the amazing set closer.
Watching THE JOY FORMIDABLE perform was like being in the eye of a hurricane. In other words, they live up to the hype and then some.
Can John Lydon provoke and effect with the same caustic wit? The jury is out, as he let the music do most of his talking.
But on this night, it was the encore that really thrilled.
John Doe and Exene show that the simplest approach is often the best.
The 88’s Adam Merrin pounded his red piano with obvious glee during “David Watts,” and Keith Slettedahl took a verse alongside his hero Davies with transparent pride. It seemed that The 88 were engaged not only to serve arena standards like the grinding “Low Budget,” but also had an influence in selecting deeper cuts. “This is a song for the end times,” announced Davies when introducing “Dead End Street,” buoyed by the snap and swing of 88 drummer Anthony Zimmitti . Bassist Todd O’Keefe dug into Pete Quaife ’s jaunty bass line and gave a throaty howl for the chorus.
John and Exene were both in fine form, joking with the audience liberally and telling stories about each song beforehand.
To say that this was an epic Feelies show would definitely be an understatement.
Is a recast glance to a 22 year old record still a valid experience? Read and find out.
Thirty five songs later, Wilco does indeed love you.
England’s Leatherface blitzes Brooklyn and plots a return in May.
